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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29390805">Sun and Moon</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/dem0nsiget/pseuds/dem0nsiget'>dem0nsiget</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Wolvden (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, The Soft River Pack, my pack, my wolvden lore, my wolves, wolvden writings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 08:22:42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,419</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29390805</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/dem0nsiget/pseuds/dem0nsiget</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The on-going main lore for my pack on Wolvden, the Soft River Pack.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Abaise/Kotsim, Cracking Ice/Atka</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Part One</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>The Soft River Pack get some two-legged visitors.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Abaise was the first to notice the smoke on the horizon. At first she worried it was fire, but she doubted a fire could make it far on the tundra with the heavy layer of snow on the ground.</p><p>That left one possibility: humans.</p><p>So she had returned to camp and had Kotsim come with her to investigate. She wanted to see if they would need to move further from the tundra or not, if the humans were a threat.</p><p>She crested a small hill, and stopped, spotting dark shapes below, starkly contrasted against the snow, a small fire throwing a thin trail of smoke into the air.</p><p>“Looks like we found them.”, she said softly, watching the human’s camp. She could see only two, and only one of their odd flimsy shelters, so she doubted there were more.</p><p>“I only see one of their sticks.”, Kotsim murmured, eyeing the sight of a light brown and gray stick leaned against the sled they had.</p><p>Abaise hummed slightly. “Then perhaps they’re not hunters.”, she said softly.</p><p>“Or they’re hiding them to lure us in.”, Kotsim growled.</p><p>“Kotsim, please. Until we know they’re threats, let’s hope they are not.”, Abaise said, earning a slight frown from her mate, but he didn’t argue further.</p><p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p><p>“Lewis, Lewis! Look!”, Peggy squealed slightly, pointing up at the ridge they’d decided to use as shelter from the wind. “There’s two wolves right up on the ridge!”</p><p>Lewis, who’d been finishing securing their dogs, glanced over, frowning slightly as he looked at the dogs, who had all just curled up to sleep. “Some guard dogs you are.”, he muttered, before he walked over to stand beside Peggy, looking up at the two wolves.</p><p>“There shouldn’t be any wolves on the tundra here, though. There’s no reports of any.”, he said.</p><p>“But there is a pack not far from here by the river, Lea said she’s seen them hunting while she was up in the copter. And based on her descriptions, I think that’s Sun and Moon.”, Peggy said, gesturing at the two wolves, who were still watching them. “She’s quite sure they’re the lead couple, though she can’t tell who’s the pack’s true leader.”, she said.</p><p>“We’re here to track caribou, Peggy.”, Lewis said, slightly deadpan.</p><p>“Correction; you are here to track caribou. I’m here to document the other wildlife we come across.”, she said. “And come on, HQ’s been wanting to document as many of the wolf packs as they can around here. They already know a lot about Whisper’s pack.”, she said.</p><p>“That’s because Whisper’s pack is much bigger and lives out in the open.”, Lewis said.</p><p>“Right, and we thought Sun and Moon never ventured out, but obviously they do! Their territory must expand here.”, Peggy said, still watching the two wolves. “Oh, this is so exciting.”</p><p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p><p>“They’ve had ample opportunity to harm us, Kotsim.”, Abaise said, standing at the top of the ridge, watching the two humans and their dogs.  </p><p>“Hmm.”, Kotsim hummed, his tail flicking. Abaise knew a couple of his packmates in his birth pack had been killed by hunters, so she understood his apprehension. But her pack had had a couple humans that had lived in their territory, and they had never had problems with them.</p><p>It just depended on the human.</p><p>“Let’s just get back to camp, and warn everyone to be cautious.”, Abaise said. “They still have dogs, and we dont know how they’ll react to our presence.”</p><p>“Probably not well, since they’re stupid dogs.”, Kotsim muttered, before he turned and headed back over the ridge, out of sight of the humans.</p><p>Abaise stayed for a few more moments, watching the two, before she turned and followed her mate.</p><p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p><p>“We should move further from the tundra! We can’t afford to lose anyone else!”</p><p>“No, we should all chase them off! There’s only two of them!”</p><p>“You’re an idiot, Kasota! They’d probably come back with more and wipe us out.”</p><p>Abaise stood on the large rock in the middle of camp, where she usually made announcements, waiting for the bickering to die down among the pack, but it didn’t seem like it would.</p><p>She stepped forward slightly, growling, before she snapped. “ENOUGH!”, she barked, glaring down at the pack, who hushed quickly, as she jumped down to address them on their level.</p><p>“We will not attack, and we will not move. This is our home now, and we are not going to leave it unless we are truly in danger.”, she said, before she cast a glare at Kasota, the young male glancing away. “And we will not attack the humans. They have not shown any hostility towards us, so we will not show it towards them.”</p><p>“We understand that, Abaise, but Cardinal Flight is right. We’ve lost so many wolves in the past few months, can we really afford to sit here and wait for them to attack?”, Daka asked, watching her cousin.</p><p>“We’ve lost wolves to old age, not humans.”, Husa barked, her tail bristled slightly. “That has no bearing on the situation at paw. Abaise is right. We cannot just uproot ourselves for no reason, and why attack and give us a reason to have to flee?”, the young herbalist said, her tail thumping slightly.</p><p>“Because if we don’t move further away, they could find us, and ambush us to cause us harm.”, Icamna said from his spot sitting beside Daka.</p><p>“Then they would just follow us.”, Singwe growled softly. “If they would come here to find us from the tundra, who says they wouldn’t follow us further? Mother is right. We should stay, and keep to ourselves.”</p><p>“We should go see what they want.”, Morning Sun said, eyeing her mother and older sister. “Obviously we can’t speak to them, but we can at least see if they’re friendly.”</p><p>“That’s the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard.”, Crystal Pool said with a scoff. “You’ll just get yourself taken away, to never come back.”</p><p>“That’s enough, Crystal Pool.”, Abaise snapped at the white she-wolf. “We do not know that. But we will not venture to their camp, Morning Sun. That’s too dangerous.”</p><p>“Perhaps we could send a wolf or two to watch them?”, Vixen said. “I’d be more than happy to volunteer.”</p><p>“As would I.”, Swift Snow said softly, the newcomer to the pack looking embarrassed for speaking when several wolves glanced at her.</p><p>Abaise stayed quiet for a few moments, before she nodded. “Alright. Vixen and Swift Snow will observe the humans. I want daily reports, and stay as out of sight as you can. We don’t want them to know you’re there all the time.”</p><p>The two she-wolves nodded quickly, before they both got up to prepare to leave.</p><p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p><p>“That’s the second time I’ve seen that wolf on the horizon.”, Peggy said quietly, laying down in the snow next to Lewis, who had a set of binoculars trained on a caribou herd.</p><p>“Peggy, can you please be quiet? I am trying to count the caribou.”, he muttered.</p><p>Peggy just rolled her eyes, before she carefully slid back down the ridge they had crested, standing up when she was out of sight of the herd, turning to see a wolf standing on another ridge nearby, watching her.</p><p>The wolf almost blended in with the snow around it, other than a black streak across its side that Peggy could see even being this far away.</p><p>As she watched, another wolf poked its head over the ridge, before it stepped up beside the white wolf. This one stood out against the snow in dark hues, mixed with brassy yellow.</p><p>Peggy really wished she’d brought her camera, but Lewis had insisted they only needed his for the caribou (and she knew he just didn’t want her taking pictures of everything and slowing him down).</p><p>If it wasn’t for the caribou herd over the rise, she would almost think they were following the two of them, but they were more than likely just tracking the herd.</p><p>How she wished she could try to howl to them, or even try to get closer, but she knew it probably wasn’t the best idea.</p><p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p><p>“What do you think they’re doing?”, Swift Snow asked quietly.</p><p>Night had fallen, the two she-wolves laying on a ridge not far from the human’s camp, still able to see them.</p><p>“Probably sleeping, Swift.”, Vixen muttered.</p><p>“No, I mean, with the caribou. They’re obviously here for them. You think they mean to hunt them?”</p><p>Vixen scoffed slightly. “I’d love to see them try. That’s the Barren Ground herd. Some of the hardest caribou to hunt.”, she said. “They’re used to living in the open, so they’re almost impossible to sneak up on.”</p><p>“I’m sure humans could find a way.”, Swift Snow said.</p><p>“Well, even if they could, I don’t think they would. I don’t think they’re here to hunt. Maybe they’re like us. Just here to watch.”, Vixen said.</p><p>“So you believe Abaise? That they mean no harm?”, Swift Snow asked softly.</p><p>“Look, I grew up near humans. I lost several packmates when I was younger to humans. And every time, the humans just immediately attacked. They didn’t hang around and look at caribou.”, Vixen said. “So yeah, I do believe her. Besides, she’s just doing what’s best for the pack, especially right now in winter.”</p><p>Swift Snow sighed softly, laying her head on her paws. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”, she huffed quietly.</p><p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p><p>“And you think they saw you?”</p><p>Vixen glanced at Kotsim, who was sitting beside Abaise, his eyes narrowed slightly as he waited for her answer.</p><p>“I’m pretty sure the long-haired one did.”, she said. “But she just watched us until the other called to her. We followed them back to camp, but they just went into their pelt-den and didn’t come out until morning.”, she said. “I left Swift Snow to watch them from a distance, but they seem to just stay in camp until at least high sun.”, she said.</p><p>Abaise nodded slightly. “And they didn’t seem aggressive?”</p><p>Vixen shook her head. “Not at all. They took their stick with them to watch the caribou, but I think they only have that for protection against the bears. I’ve seen humans carry them to use against attacking bears before.”</p><p>Kotsim just frowned slightly, but stayed quiet.</p><p>“Return to Swift Snow and the human’s camp. Just continue to watch them.”, Abaise said. “It will take more than one day for us to be able to tell their true intentions.”, she said.</p><p>Vixen nodded, before she turned and ran out of camp.</p><p>Kotsim watched the young she-wolf leave, before he glanced at his mate. “The longer we have them just sit around and watch, the less time we will have to move if we need to.”, he said.</p><p>“And the greater the chance we will learn we don’t have to move.”, Abaise said, looking at her mate. “I understand your concern, Kotsim, but I am the leader of this pack, and this is the course of action we will take. I will not uproot my pack, or needlessly put them in danger if we do not need to. We especially do not need to be trying to establish a new camp in the middle of winter.”, she said.</p><p>Kotsim just stayed quiet for a few moments, before he stood, shaking himself slightly. “Of course. You are the leader.”, he said, before he walked away.</p><p>Abaise sighed as she watched him, knowing that meant he definitely didn’t agree with her.</p><p>“You know, most of the pack agrees with you, Mother.”</p><p>Abaise glanced over, smiling softly as Morning Sun walked over and sat next to her mother, looking over at her.</p><p>“The younger wolves, at least other than Kasota, know you’re just being smart, but also cautious.”, Morning Sun said. “But not too cautious, like most of the older wolves want you to be.”, she said.</p><p>“They’re shaken from the loses we’ve suffered. All of them were old friends.”, Abaise said softly.</p><p>“And they’ll be missed. But we shouldn’t give up our home at the first sight of danger, or we’ll never have a true home.”, Morning Sun said.</p><p>Abaise glanced at her daughter, and chuckled softly, leaning over and nuzzling her cheek. “I must have been very busy, to miss you growing up so much.”, she said warmly.</p><p>“I learned it from you.”, Morning Sun said, nuzzling her mother back, before she stood up. “I need to get back to Shine and Willow, but just... remember what I said. The young wolves are behind you, so don’t second guess yourself because of a couple of the older wolves, Father included.”, she said, glancing at where her father was sitting, talking to Daka and Icamna.</p><p>Abaise just sighed, and nodded, before she smiled softly. “Thank you, Morning Sun.”, she said quietly, as her daughter walked away with a wag of her tail.</p><p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p><p>It was almost a week and a half since the first time Peggy had seen Snowy and Foxy, as she’d come to start calling the two wolves that followed them. She was quite sure they were both females, just by watching the way they carried themselves, as well as they fact that they were much smaller than any male wolves she’d seen, though she knew that didn’t mean anything.</p><p>Lewis hadn’t seemed too enthused about their four-legged shadows, always going on that they were going to spook the dogs, but they had yet to even raise a hackle at the wolves’s scent.</p><p>“I’m telling you, they know the wolves mean no harm. They’d be barking up a storm otherwise.”, Peggy said, her face lit up by the campfire, night having fallen about a half an hour earlier.</p><p>“Or they’re just good sled dogs, crappy guard dogs.”, Lewis said.</p><p>Peggy laughed at that. “You’ve never been around sled dogs then. They’re very protective, and pretty wild.”, she said, glancing at where their team were all curled up on the ends of their leads.</p><p>She looked over at the ridge, seeing the faint outline of Foxy against the snow, knowing Snowy was most likely next to her, just blending in with the white.</p><p>“I wish they’d trust us enough to come closer.”, she said softly. “I’d love to be able to see them up close. And who knows? Maybe we could befriend the pack. I’ve heard of many researchers who have done that.”</p><p>“Yeah, after years.”, Lewis said. “We’ve only been here a few weeks. Besides, the caribou will probably be moving soon, and then we’ll be gone.”</p><p>“Not if I get a permit from the organization to stay to study the pack. Come on, Lewis. They’ve been trying to learn more about Sun and Moon’s pack since the chopper team first saw them.”, Peggy said. “That was almost five years ago, and they’ve never been able to find them reliably.”</p><p>“Because they’ve never tried, because they’ve never really cared. They’re not a very prolific pack, Peggy. They’re tiny compared to Whisper’s pack.”</p><p>“And? That doesn’t mean they’re not important.”, she said indignantly. “Who knows what we could learn from them? They’re obviously very smart, I mean, they’ve had us tailed since the day we got here.”, she said, gesturing at the ridge where the two wolves were sleeping.</p><p>“Or those two are loners, and are just trying to scavenge.”, Lewis said.</p><p>Peggy just groaned loudly. “You’re impossible.”, she muttered. “I knew I should have asked for Lea to come with me. She’d be jumping at the opportunity to get a mission to follow Sun and Moon’s pack.”</p><p>“Yeah, but she runs the chopper team, so that wouldn’t exactly work, so you’re stuck with me.”, Lewis said, before he stood up and headed inside the tent, the conversation obviously over.</p><p>Peggy just sighed, glancing out at the ridge.</p><p>She’d get a permit to come and follow the pack if it was the last thing she did.</p><p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p><p>Vixen just laid on the ridge they’d slept on, watching the human’s camp. She’d noticed the long-haired one, who she was quite sure was a female, watching them the night before.</p><p>Swift Snow was still asleep, the sun still not over the horizon, bathing the tundra in pinkish hues.</p><p>Vixen just watched, sighing. She knew they were just supposed to watch, but she was curious. The humans didn’t seem to have any ill will towards them, and they didn’t even seem to want to hunt the caribou they always watched.</p><p>She wished she could go and speak to them, or even just go down to their camp, but she knew that Abaise would be angry if she found out, and besides, she didn’t want to alert the dogs they’d brought and wake the humans.</p><p>She just sighed, laying her head on her paws, watching the small remnants of their fire, little more than smolders at that point, but the sun wasn’t long from rising, so she figured it wasn’t too much of a problem.</p><p>Vixen didn’t realize she’d fallen asleep until she heard a shrill scream, leaping to her feet, at first thinking it was somehow Swift Snow, but the white she-wolf had leapt up beside her.</p><p>Vixen turned and looked down into the human’s camp, before she took off at the sight of a black bear tearing into the human’s tent, probably after food.</p><p>She bounded down the ridge, snarling loudly as she did, the dogs having woken up at well, but all of them were tethered away from the tent.</p><p>Vixen heard Swift Snow behind her, the usually timid she-wolf snarling as well as they ran at the black bear, the animal visibly thin and obviously starving, turning on them with a roar.</p><p>Vixen just dashed in, snapping at its hind leg and leaping back as it took a swung at her, Vixen barking loudly to try and scare the bear away.</p><p>Swift Snow lunged forward while she had it distracted, tearing a chunk of fur from its shoulder, the bear turning towards her. Vixen didn’t give it the chance to attack her, snapping at its leg.</p><p>The bear roared at that, turning away from the two of them and running away, obviously deciding that whatever it had smelled in the tent wasn’t worth the effort.</p><p>Swift Snow turned and ran after it, barking and snapping at its heels until they were over the ridge.</p><p>Vixen turned, sniffing at the tent, but didn’t smell any blood, walking forward to the tear in the tent, her tail held out anxiously.</p><p>Both humans were awake, pressed against the back of the tent, the larger, short haired one, who Vixen could now smell was a male, had the stick in his hand, but it wasn’t pointed at her.</p><p>The female had huge eyes, obviously having been right next to where the bear started tearing into the tent.</p><p>Vixen lowered her head slightly, but watched the humans, letting out a soft whine.</p><p>The female sat up slightly, before she started inching forward, her hand out.</p><p>Vixen eyed her warily for a few moments, before she stepped forward, sniffing at her hand, before she nudged it, her tail wagging slightly.</p><p>The female made a soft noise of happiness, Vixen pulling back for a second at the noise, before she relaxed again, sniffing the female’s hand again, nosing at it.</p><p>Vixen stepped back and turned when she heard paws in the snow behind her, seeing Swift Snow walking up, panting.</p><p>“Bear’s gone.”, she said, eyeing the female human, and how close Vixen was to her. “We should head back and report to Abaise, and Husa will probably want to check us over.”</p><p>Vixen nodded slightly, before she turned back to the female human, letting out a soft woof, before she turned and followed Swift Snow back towards camp.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Part Two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was several moons after the bear attack when the humans were spotted again.</p><p>This time, it was the long-haired human from before, as well as two new humans, that came running into a slightly protected valley in the hills of the tundra. They arrived in the morning, their sled dogs running over the crackly, almost gone remnants of the last snow, spring almost in full swing.</p><p>Smoke Cloud had been on a scouting mission when Wowasi came swooping back, letting out a squawk and ruffling the scout’s ears before the sleek raven flew back the way she’d come, Smoke Cloud bounding along below.</p><p>She stopped at the ridge Wowasi had landed on, looking down the slope, seeing the humans pulling things off of their sleds, their dogs milling around where they were tied to them.</p><p>Smoke Cloud noticed one of them, the dog in front, staring directly at her, her fur bristling uncomfortably at that, turning and bounding back down the ridge and towards the towering conifers of the forest.</p><p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p><p>Atka noticed the raven that swooped overhead twice, watching it the second time it showed up, watching it land on the ridge, just as a wolf showed up, Atka watching it.</p><p>He was young enough and hadn’t been far enough from the sledding farm he grew up on to have never seen a wolf other than Kenai, the old wolf that the farmers owned.</p><p>Kenai had told them about his time in the wild when he was younger, the hungry times that his pack had faced until his mother finally brought him and his siblings to the farm so they’d be taken care of. He’d been taken by the farmers, his siblings being given to other humans.</p><p>Atka just watched the wolf, who seemed to notice him watching, turning and disappearing just as suddenly as it had appeared.</p><p>Atka hadn’t realized his tail had raised up until he felt a nudge from his side, turning to look at Syka.</p><p>“What’s with you?” she asked, tilting her head slightly, looking unamused.</p><p>“You didn’t see the wolf on the ridge?”, he asked.</p><p>“No.”, Syka said, lifting a paw to scratch her ear. “Sure you didn’t see things?”</p><p>“I’m sure, Syka.”, Atka snapped, looking back at the ridge so he didn’t have to deal with the bossy female anymore.</p><p>“A wolf? Do you think it’ll attack?”</p><p>Atka turned slightly, recognizing the voice as Takaani, turning to the younger Husky.</p><p>“I doubt it. There’s a lot of us, not to mention the humans. We’ll be alright, Takaani.”, he said, wagging his tail reassuringly.</p><p>“Not if they decided to attack with their whole pack.”, Syka said. “You heard what Dinari said. They’re a big pack.”</p><p>“Dinari doesn’t know what he’s talking about. They only saw two of the wolves, and they said from what they’re understood, Peggy doesn’t even know how many of them there are. Now stop scaring the others.”, Atka snapped.</p><p>Syka just dipped her head slightly before she settled down in the sparse snow below her. Atka knew she would have slunk off if she could, but they hadn’t been detached from the sled yet.</p><p>Atka just stood at the front of the group but glanced back every now and then to check on the rest of the team, most of whom had settled down in the snow. The only one actually watching him was Kaskae, but Atka ignored the large black husky’s glare.</p><p>He just turned back to look at the ridge where the wolf had been and then disappeared.</p><p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p><p>Abaise stood on the announcement rock in camp, waiting for everyone to gather, seeing Cracking Ice creeping as close as she could to the rock.</p><p>It was only a few moments later when Abaise stepped forward slightly to speak.</p><p>“Smoke Cloud has discovered that the long-haired human that Vixen and Swift Snow encountered has returned.”, she said. “She has come with a couple of other humans and a team of sled dogs. They have set up camp in the tundra.”</p><p>Abaise heard worried murmurs, mostly from the older wolves or those with pups. Cracking Ice and several of the other young wolves looked like they were about to burst from excitement.</p><p>“I want everyone to steer clear of them when you can.”, Abaise said, casting a glance at her. “They are not threats, but we don’t want to provoke the other humans or the dogs in any way.”, she said. “We will leave them to their business and hope they leave us to ours.”</p><p>“What if they’ve come to watch us?”, Sycamore Branch piped up, looking embarrassed as everyone turned to look at him. “There were humans that watched our old pack.”, he said, glancing at his sister Dusk Sky, who was sitting beside him. “They put these collars on a couple of our wolves, but other than that, they mostly left us alone. We’d see them watching our hunting parties or scouts, but they just seemed to want to watch.”</p><p>“Sycamore’s right.”, Dusk Sky said. “They were actually very nice. They took one of our pups that was dying from a disease our herbalist didn’t know how to treat and brought him back healed.”, she said.</p><p>“I understand.”, Abaise said. “But we don’t know how the other humans or their dogs will react.”</p><p>“At least with their dogs, we can talk to them.”, Kotsim said.</p><p>“True.”, Abaise said. “But still, my point stands. Do not interact with them if you can help it.”, she said, looking over her pack, seeming most of them nodding in agreement, only a few of the younger wolves taking a few moments before they nodded.</p><p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p><p>Cracking Ice had meant to listen to her mother’s rules, she had.</p><p>But her mother hadn’t exactly told them what to do if they found themselves confronted by one of the sled dogs in the tundra on the way back home from a scouting mission.</p><p>“So, you’re one of the wolves we’re here to research.”, the large dog said from his spot on a small rock, blocking the game path into the forest.</p><p>Cracking Ice eyed him, bristling slightly. “And what if I am?”, she said, her eyes narrowed slightly.</p><p>“Relax.”, the dog said with a chuckle. “The name’s Atka. I’m the sled team leader.”, he said.</p><p>“Cracking Ice.”, she said, eyeing him.</p><p>“Mm, that’s a fitting name.”, Atka said, eyeing her. “You’re much different than any other wolf I’ve ever seen.”</p><p>“And just how many have you seen?”, she asked, her tail flicking slightly.</p><p>Atka started to say something, before he laughed slightly. “One.”, he said.</p><p>Cracking Ice raised an eyebrow slightly, before she titled her head. “Mm, then you must be such a great judge on what wolves look like.”, she said, earning a slight grin from the large dog.</p><p>“Well, I still think the name fits.”, he said, sitting down in the tiny remnants of snow left from spring finally being upon them.</p><p>“What did you mean, research?”, Cracking Ice asked, tilting her head slightly. “You said you’re here to research us.”</p><p>Atka nodded slightly. “I’m relatively new to all this, but my mother used to run in a research sled team.”, he said. “Basically, the humans set up camp, watch a wolf pack for awhile. Might catch a few and put radio collars on them, which are harmless.”, he said.</p><p>“Why?”, she asked.</p><p>Atka shrugged slightly. “Nothing bad, that’s all I know. They don’t exactly sit down and let the dogs in on what happens.”, he said. “It’s a struggle most of the time to even understand them. A lot of figuring out what the hell their noises mean.”</p><p>“I don’t envy you.”, she said. “For figuring out their speech and not being able to, you know. Go where you please, do what you please.”</p><p>He just laughed. “What do you think I’m doing now?”, he asked, straightening slightly.</p><p>“And they just let you out? Where’s the rest of your team?”, Cracking Ice asked.</p><p>“Well, no.”, Atka said. “I slip out of my tether. I like to roam some nights.”, he said.</p><p>Cracking Ice just hummed, flicking her tail, looking amused. “Well, definitely sounds like you’ve got a wild side.”, she said.</p><p>“Now I know you’re just teasing me.”, Atka said, grinning at her slightly.</p><p>Cracking Ice went to speak, but went quiet at a slightly distant howl. She glanced over his shoulder, and sighed. “I, uh, I have to go. That was my mother.”, she said.</p><p>Atka glanced back. “Your mother?”</p><p>Cracking Ice nodded slightly. “Abaise. She’s the pack leader. If I don’t get back on time she won’t be happy.”, she said.</p><p>“Sun, or Moon?”, Atka asked.</p><p>“S- sorry?”, Cracking Ice said, tilting her head.</p><p>“The humans call your leaders Sun and Moon. One’s a silver wolf and one’s a golden color.”, he said.</p><p>“Oh, then Sun. My father Kotsim must be who they call Moon.”, she said, just as there was another short howl. “I really have to go.”, she said, and went to brush by him.</p><p>“Wait.”, Atka said, stepping in her way, their muzzled close to each other when she glanced at him. “When can I see you again?”, he asked.</p><p>Cracking Ice went to tell him that it probably wouldn’t be ever, but found herself stopping before she said anything.</p><p>“I- I’m a scout for the pack.”, she found herself saying instead. “I travel up through here every couple of days. The next time I’ll be through here at night will be on the half moon.”</p><p>Atka nodded slightly. “Three days. I think I can handle that.”, he said, smiling. “I look forward to it.”, he said, before he trotted off, leaving Cracking Ice watching him go, before she turned and bounded off into the forest when she heard an angry howl.</p><p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p><p>Abaise knew something was up with Cracking Ice.</p><p>She’d noticed it after her daughter’s first scouting mission after Smoke Cloud had discovered that the humans were back. She’d tried to ask Cracking Ice what the matter was, but she had just assured her mother nothing was wrong.</p><p>Abaise knew better though, but she figured that Cracking Ice was just on edge, like many of the wolves were.</p><p>She’d voiced her concerns to Kotsim, but her mate didn’t have much to offer the conversation that Abaise hadn’t already thought of.</p><p>She laid curled up with Kotsim in the thin winter sunshine, the two of them curled up to try and converse more heat.</p><p>They’d moved to the mountains, into the sparse forest that covered the foothills. It wasn’t as protective as the coniferous forest, but prey was more plentiful, and easier to catch.</p><p>Even so, they’d been struggling. Abaise had finally had to resort to having the hunting party made of her pups do most of the hunting, as they were more experienced and better at catching prey.</p><p>“Abaise, get out of your head.”, she heard Kotsim yip, as her mate nudged her cheek.</p><p>She shook her head slightly, and turned to look at him. “Sorry.”, she said softly. “Just... worrying.”</p><p>Kotsim chuckled slightly. “Tell me something I don’t know.”, he said, grinning at the soft growl Abaise gave him. “We’ll be alright. We’ve had rough winters before, and we always pull through.”</p><p>“Yes, but never with this big of a pack.”, she said, her tail thumping worriedly. “We’ve grown so much even since last winter.”</p><p>“And that just means more helping paws.”, Kotsim said, licking her nose slightly. “It’ll be ok.”</p><p>Abaise just huffed slightly, laying her head down on his side, closing her eyes.</p><p>She hoped he was right.</p><p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p><p>Cracking Ice had not meant to stay out this late.</p><p>She’d been on a scouting mission to the glacier, hoping to find some kind of food, with no luck. She’d stayed out there far too long, desperately hoping to find something to supplement the tiny prey pile in camp.</p><p>Now, she was stuck in the middle of the tundra with the starting of a blizzard falling around her.</p><p>She could tell by looking to the west, not even able to see the mountains that she knew separated the glacier from the tundra.</p><p>She was starting to panic. She’d probably freeze out her by herself, as the sun was setting, she could tell by the fact that the light was slowly fading.</p><p>Cracking Ice just stopped, standing still for a bit, to get her mind in order. She had to come up with a plan, not pace back and forth. All that would accomplish would be to make her lose her bearings.</p><p>“Cracking Ice!”</p><p>The light gray wolf whirled at a bark behind her, both relieved and confused to see Atka bounding up to her.</p><p>Over the past few weeks, the two had grown close, Atka sneaking out to visit whenever she had a scouting mission in the north. But she had no idea what he was doing out in this weather.</p><p>“Atka, you shouldn’t be out here.”, she barked, bristling slightly. “This is just the beginnings of a blizzard.”</p><p>“I know.”, he said. “I’ve been waiting for you, and when I hadn’t seen you before the blizzard started coming over the mountains, I knew you’d be in trouble.”, he said. “Come on, I found a cave over this way. We should be able to stay warm in it.”, he said, turning and bounding off.</p><p>Cracking Ice wanted to be annoyed that he’d risked his own safety for her, but really it just made her heart melt a bit, before she bounded after the large husky.</p><p>Sure enough, not far from where she’d been standing was a small hill, a crack in the side of the rock, Atka disappearing into it.</p><p>Cracking Ice followed, squeezing inside, the opening a bit of a tight squeeze, but it opened up after. While there was a hole at the top, causing some cold wind and snow to blow through the small cave, it was nothing like the cold outside.</p><p>Atka had already settled down against the back wall. “Come on, it’ll be best if we curl up to conserve body heat.”, he said.</p><p>“Sure, that’s the only reason.”, Cracking Ice said, smiling slightly, her tail waving, as she walked over, easily tucking herself into a ball against Atka’s belly, laying her head on his flank, feeling him chuckle.</p><p>“Hey, if that’s what it’ll take.”, he teased, tucking himself around her as well, his head resting on her flank too.</p><p>Cracking Ice just relaxed, snuggling into him slightly. This wasn’t the first time they’d curled up together, but she knew that there wouldn’t be any chance to get Atka’s scent off of her after curling up to weather a blizzard together.</p><p>Her mother would know why Cracking Ice had been so distant, why she took so much time on scouting missions now.</p><p>On one paw, it might make it easier, but Cracking Ice knew better. Her mother would be pissed that she’d disobeyed her order to not interact with the humans or their dogs, though, to be fair, it hadn’t been her fault. Atka had found her, not the other way around.</p><p>“You ever think about what you would want to do?”, Atka asked softly. “If your mother hadn’t marked you as her heir?”</p><p>Cracking Ice hummed softly at the question. “I’d probably just continue to be a scout. I like traveling around, seeing things most of my pack never would.”, she said.</p><p>“What about... farther?”, he asked quietly.</p><p>She raised her head to look at him, meeting his ice blue eyes.</p><p>“What, like... go with you?”, she asked, tilting her head slightly.</p><p>“No, no.”, Atka said. “I wouldn’t even suggest that. Sledding’s alright, but only when you were raised in it. Besides, pure wolves don’t usually pull.”, he said, frowning slightly. “They’re usually used for breeding. The ranch I grew up on, they had an old wolf, Kenai. His mother left him there when he was a pup to stop him from starving.”, he said. “But he always talked about missing the wild.”</p><p>“Then what do you mean?”, Cracking Ice asked, still watching him.</p><p>“I mean, would you stay with your pack, or move? Just roam, see the sights farther even than here.”, he said.</p><p>“I’d probably stay with my pack. I like to wander, but our valley here is more than enough space for me to do so.”, she said. “And I’d miss my family. My siblings and my nieces and nephews.”, she said.</p><p>“Yeah, I guess that makes sense.”, Atka said, laying his head back down on her flank.</p><p>“What about you? What would you do?”, Cracking Ice asked.</p><p>“If I wasn’t a sled dog?”, he asked, humming slightly when she nodded, before he glanced away, his ears pulled back slightly in a bit of embarrassment.</p><p>“Stay here. With you.”, he said. “Be wild. Not have to deal with Kaskae or any of the other dogs that aren’t my biggest fans. Be able to go where I went whenever I want, without having to slip out of a lead.”, he said.</p><p>Cracking Ice had frozen at his addition of ‘with you’, looking at him, before she laid her head down on his flank. “You could you know.”, she said softly. “My mother may not want us to interact with the humans or any of your team, but there’s not much she could do if you wanted to join.”, she said.</p><p>Atka looked at her, his tail tapping slightly. “And if she did? If she didn’t allow me into the pack? What would you do then?”, he asked.</p><p>Cracking Ice started to answer, to say she’d respect her mother’s wishes, wait until she was leader to bring Atka in, but that wasn’t what left her mouth.</p><p>“I’d follow you.”, she said. “We could start our own pack, if she refused to let you join.”</p><p>Atka practically beamed at that, sitting up to lean over and start licking her face, Cracking Ice yipping in surprise at that and the cold across her belly his movement caused.</p><p>“Alright, alright, do that when it’s warmer.”, she said with a laugh, pushing him back down with a paw, and curling up with him again.</p><p>Atka just laughed. “Sorry, just... I’m really happy to hear you say that.”, he said.</p><p>“It’s the truth.”, Cracking Ice said softly. “I hope it doesn’t come to that, but it’s the truth.”</p><p>The two just curled back up together, talking quietly, plans for if Atka joined the pack, if they had to start a new pack, things Cracking Ice wanted to change as leader.</p><p>And as the blizzard raged outside, the two young canids found themselves falling more in love than they thought they could with someone so different.</p>
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